European Union

Italy says civilian infrastructure in Europe is “under attack”.

A series of bomb threats this week grounded flights and put airports on high alert. No explosives were found, and the threats appear to be false.

But the disruption is not limited to aviation. Hackers have also targeted supermarket freezers in several countries, raising temperatures and spoiling food.

Together, the incidents are raising fears and questions about a wider campaign of hybrid attacks.

Who could be behind these threats? Are they connected? And can European nations come together to counter these acts of aggression?

Presenter: Dareen Abughaida

Guests:

Eric Schouten – Founder and CEO of Dyami Security Intelligence

Dennis-Kenji Kipker – Research director of the Cyber Intelligence Institute

Patrick Bury – Defence and security specialist at the University of Bath

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has started research after the man died from animal illness – only detected for first time this summer

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has launched an investigation after the first-ever case of a brain disease was found in an EU country which is a favourite destination for UK tourists. Health officials in France raised the alarm following the first ever known case of Shamonda virus (SHAV) infection in a human.

The person concerned had not travelled outside the country in the preceding 12 months, the WHO said. WHO said: “The case was an immunocompromised older man from eastern France with no travel history during the preceding year. He developed severe neurological illness on 23 September 2026 and was diagnosed with severe encephalitis (brain inflammation). The patient died on 8 October 2026.”

It said there are ‘no previously documented human infections’ of the disease, which normally affects animals such as cattle, sheep, goats and horses. The WHO said: “As only one human case has been reported so far, information on the disease in humans remains limited. In this case, the patient was already seriously ill and experienced additional, brain-related symptoms that were considered to be linked to the Shamonda virus.”

Vector-borne transmission (via a bite from an infected midge) is thought to be the most likely source of infection. Officials are investigating the possibility of food-borne transmission, but said it’s unlikely.

WHO added: “As this is the first documented laboratory-confirmed human infection, WHO considers that the public health risk cannot yet be reliably assessed and recommends continued surveillance and investigation.”

The patient lived in rural eastern France, where animal SHAV transmission has been documented since July 2026, and had not travelled in the preceding year. The patient received multiple blood transfusions between February and October 2026 for his underlying illness.

SHAV was only found for the first time in Europe during the summer of 2026 with confirmed or suspected infections reported in cattle, horses and alpacas in Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland.

As of October 21 2026, additional European countries and territories have reported SHAV detections in animals: Austria, Ireland, Jersey, Liechtenstein, Portugal, Slovenia and Spain.

It adds: “This first documented human infection with SHAV in 2026 demonstrates that human infection is possible. However, a single case is insufficient to assess the risk to the general population, including immunocompetent individuals, or to determine the frequency, clinical spectrum or severity of human infection. The route of infection and possible sources of exposure are unknown, though vector-borne transmission is a plausible hypothesis.”

The EU office carries out probes at Spanish rail network administrator, safety agency and state auditors.

The European Union’s public prosecutors have launched a probe into possible fraud in the financing of Spain’s rail network after a high-speed train crash killed at least 69 passengers last month.

The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) said on Friday that it had carried out investigations ‌at the headquarters of Spain’s railway infrastructure manager, its railway safety agency and its court of auditors to determine possible fraud in the financing of the ⁠Madrid-Seville high-speed line.

“Today, the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Madrid (Spain) is conducting investigative measures at the Administrator of Railway Infrastructure (ADIF), the State Railway Safety Agency (AESF) and the Court of Auditors in Spain,” a statement from the prosecutors said.

“This comes after the opening of an investigation into possible fraud affecting EU funds allocated to the renovation and upgrading of safety, signaling and communications systems on the Madrid-Seville high-speed railway line,” the EPPO added.

Spain’s rail infrastructure manager, Adif, confirmed the visit from the EPPO to the Reuters news agency, stating that it complied with the search and provided any requested information. The other two organisations did not respond to Reuters’ request for comment.

The October 28 train collision in Urda, Toledo province, was the second fatal crash this year and led to the resignation of Transport Minister Oscar Puente.

Resignations

The EPPO had already carried out a probe into the Spanish rail network in March, after a high-speed train crash in the Adamuz region killed 46 passengers in January.

There are no updates on this investigation, which looks into how the EU funds for track maintenance were used on the network line.

EU Transport Commissioner Apostolos Tzitzikostas expressed concern at a news briefing on Wednesday over the proximity of the two fatal accidents, calling it “very worrying” and “not something we want to see”.

Tzitzikostas also noted that Spain reached out to the European Union Agency for Railways (ERA) to assist with an ongoing national investigation.

Puente resigned on Tuesday, in what he described as a “matter of political dignity”, and Adif President Luis Pedro Marco de la Pena quit the next day. Spain’s Economy Minister Carlos Cuerpo will fill in for Puente’s role until the elections in Spain later this month, which could be hampered and influenced by last month’s tragedy.

At the end of October, soon after the crash in Urda, survivors from three of Spain’s most fatal train crashes gathered to demand better safety procedures and larger investment into network maintenance to avoid further tragedies.

“Now we have seen three dreadful crashes in Spain, at Angrois, Adamuz and Urda. They will keep happening if we do not act,” train crash survivor Cristobal Gonzalez told Al Jazeera.

“At Angrois, the driver was going too fast; at Adamuz, an investigation said there was a problem on the track; and at Urda, it might have been human error and a problem with the control system. Whatever, we must stop these crashes happening by investing more in safety,” he added.

The Angrois accident in 2013, which killed 79 people, is Spain’s deadliest rail crash in modern times.

A string of hoax alerts causing flight diversions across Europe this week have broadened to include newsrooms.

A new series of bomb threats caused more flight diversions across Europe on Friday, while also expanding to target a number of media organisations.

British broadcaster Sky said it was one of a number of newsrooms that received a bomb threat. “We have carried out a security assessment and reported the matter to the relevant authorities,” a spokesperson said.

Bulgaria’s Nova TV and the Irish public broadcaster RTE received emailed bomb threats from a purported “Mikhail Andropov”, headlined “Message to the West”, portraying the threats as a prelude to more disruptions across Europe.

RTE briefly evacuated staff, including radio and television presenters, in Dublin after an email was received on Friday morning. RTE Radio One presenter David McCullagh later told listeners that the threat warned that a bomb would explode within 45 minutes.

The Irish government said hoax bomb claims were also sent to Virgin Media, Newstalk radio and The Irish Independent newspaper and that it was unclear who was behind them.

“However, these threats come on the heels of the ongoing disruption to aviation around Europe caused by similar threats, and it seems likely that this is a coordinated campaign of disruption,” it said in a statement.

The incidents come a day after hoax bomb threats disrupted more than two dozen flights across Europe on Thursday, and days after other aircraft and a cruise ship received bomb alerts.

‘Hoax threats’ increasing

On Friday, jets escorted airliners flying from Brussels to Sofia and from Prague to Bucharest and Cyprus through Hungarian airspace due to bomb threats, Hungarian Defence Minister Romulusz Ruszin-Szendi said.

He also said NATO had ordered an air patrol near the Hungarian-Romanian border, the first report that the Western defence alliance had become involved.

Danish police said threats were directed at traffic at Copenhagen airport but that there appeared to be no danger to passengers. The airport said it was “operating normally”.

Czech police registered bomb threats to nine flights departing from or arriving in Prague. An airport spokesperson said no flights had been ⁠⁠cancelled as a result.

France said four new bomb threats were made to aircraft flying over French territory, and that all landed safely.

A Ryanair flight from Rome landed as scheduled in Lisbon, CNN Portugal reported.

About half a dozen ‌‌flights were disrupted on Tuesday and more than two dozen on Thursday, some of them making unplanned landings or being escorted to their destinations by fighter jets.

Al Jazeera’s Frances Read, reporting from London on Friday, said that while the threats have not been credible so far, disruptions appear to be widening.

“The number of hoax threats this week is making governments sit up and take notice about where this might be coming from and also think of solutions for how to deal with it,” she said.

A dispute over the politicisation of Poland’s constitutional court is deepening, with no side appearing to back down.

The Polish president has held crisis talks with political leaders as a dispute over the independence of the country’s top constitutional court deepens.

Representatives of nationalist, far-right, and some governing coalition parties attended President Karol Nawrocki’s talks at the presidential palace on Saturday, while Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s governing centrist party, Civic Coalition, stayed away.

Nawrocki said in a statement that he convened the “urgent” consultations “due to the threat to Poland’s internal security” presented by the sudden suspension on Friday of the Constitutional Tribunal’s chief judge, Bogdan Swieczkowski.

No breakthrough had emerged by Saturday afternoon.

Meanwhile, in a Saturday evening speech addressing the ongoing crisis, Tusk accused conservative nationalist opposition leaders of wanting to “destroy democracy and rule of law”.

“Let’s call things by their name,” he said. “For years in Poland there exist organisations and politicians who wish to destroy democracy and rule of law.”

Followers of the opposition right-wing Law and Justice party (PiS) gathered outside the court on Saturday, extending protests that have been running for weeks in support of PiS-friendly judges.

Constitutional crisis

The Constitutional Tribunal is Poland’s top court for deciding constitutional matters. It has been at the centre of a years-long political saga related to the politicisation of Polish courts, which Tusk says began under the right-wing PiS government.

Swieczkowski, whom the PiS appointed during its 2015-2023 government, was accused of using his powers as head of the court to block parliament from electing new judges.

Tusk argued that the court’s judges were not politically neutral and that Swieczkowski’s removal was a “painful” but necessary decision to restore the rule of law in Poland after years of erosion under PiS rule.

The court’s official X account on Friday described the government’s move as a “coup d’etat”.

Nawrocki, himself a right-wing figure, has also blocked nominations to the court under his administration.

A key complaint brought by Tusk and his pro-European party was that the court’s PiS-aligned judges frequently ruled in favour of Polish legislation over EU law.

The European Commission on Saturday urged Nawrocki to accept the nomination of new judges at the centre of the country’s constitutional crisis, the AFP news agency reported.

US Ambassador to Poland Tom Rose called for calm on all sides.

“The last thing Poland needs is a confrontation that spirals into something far worse,” Rose wrote in a post on X.

Berlin, Germany – Thousands of people are gathering in Berlin and more than 30 other German cities as the nation becomes the latest European country to be hit by a wave of student protests sweeping the continent.

Gathering at the Platz des 18 Maerz, on the west side of the capital’s iconic Brandenburg Gate on a sunny but chilly Saturday afternoon, there was support for the young people within a mixed demographic crowd.

Anti-fascist activists smoking hand-rolled cigarettes and wearing keffiyehs waited patiently alongside students dressed in Halloween outfits, smartly dressed grandmothers donning “omas gegen rechts” (grandmothers against the right) badges, and camera crews, ahead of the 2pm (13:00 GMT) rally start.

The protests were organised by a loose alliance called Gen Z Regelt (Gen Z sorts it), and by Saturday morning, nearly 180,000 people across 34 cities had signed up to participate – with the main host cities including Frankfurt, Cologne, Munich and the capital Berlin.

Nearly 12,000 people had signed up to join in the German capital, and people were continuing to stream into the square well into the demonstration to listen to speakers in what was so far a calm afternoon in the capital.

However, at a rally in the western city of Cologne, scuffles broke out between protesters and police, who moved in to contain a march there.

The protest organisers had outlined six key issues that took them to the streets on Saturday, including the rising cost of living, education cuts and military conscription.

‘Political failure’ of government

Students told Al Jazeera that they are both angry and frustrated by ongoing funding cuts, even as the government invests heavily in the military.

Yet they also said they feel a sense of hope after seeing student protests in different parts of Europe in recent weeks.

Veronika Dinter travelled to Berlin on Friday night from Hannover to participate in the protest.

The 23-year-old political science student said that due to high living costs, she had to take on a part-time job to fund her studies.

“I wanted to start studying to develop critical thinking and learn something new, but I didn’t realise how much it would cost to do so. I think this is something a lot of people in my generation are experiencing right now,” she said.

“Funding for education and social services are being cut, while the cost of living keeps rising. Universities are struggling, institutes are closing, teachers are losing their jobs and education facilities are literally falling apart.

“This crisis is the political failure of our government. And instead of solving it, Chancellor Friedrich Merz and his rich friends are funding the military with billions of euros.”

This is a sentiment that Emma Heymann, a 24-year-old student living in Berlin, resonated with.

“Our generation feels very angry at the government because they are making these huge cuts that are affecting our quality of life here. And at the same time, they are spending billions on the military and spending money to fund the genocide in Gaza,” she said.

Protesters should be ‘listened to’

Phil Tziartzianis travelled eight hours from his hometown of Kassel to join his friend Jan Chrominski and other young people at the demonstration.

“It feels important for me to be here among other young people who feel the same way,” he said.

The protesters join a wave of demonstrations that have swept across Europe in recent weeks, including in France, Belgium, Italy, Spain and Serbia.

Kilian Hampel is a senior research fellow at the Future of Work Lab at the University of Konstanz. He says other demonstrations are having an impact on young Germans.

“The frustration itself has been building for years, but this is definitely part of a wave we are seeing across Europe, and young people here are feeling that they can actually take their worries and problems to the streets,” he said. “Many of their concerns, in particular around poor educational infrastructure, are legitimate, and it’s important that they are listened to.”

The Berlin demonstration is expected to last two hours, with another one planned at 5:30pm (16:30 GMT) in a different part of the German capital.

In the past week, political figures have raised concerns about the protests turning violent.

Yet demonstrators say they see the narrative of violence distracting from the issues they want to raise.

“We urge the police to not confront our demonstrations with any kind of violence,” Dinter, the student from Hannover, said.

“We stand in solidarity with all the people around the world who are fighting for an affordable life, for more investment in the education system, and against wars and military buildup.”

Both sides signed a digital trade deal, as Trump’s trade threats push Washington’s allies to seek closer ties elsewhere.

The European Union and Canada have launched what they described as an Alliance for the Future, as Ottawa prepares to become the bloc’s first so-called “associate member”.

Prime Minister Mark Carney hosted the Canada-EU summit in Montreal and signed a digital trade deal, alongside other agreements. Also at the Friday summit were European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa.

The term “associate member” has no legal basis and is contested by some EU states. However, its use underscores the desire of Canada and the EU to forge closer relations, as United States President Donald Trump continues to threaten Washington’s traditional allies with trade tariffs if they do not play by his rules.

“Canada and the EU are working to establish the closest possible partnership, which will be far from full membership, but which will make Canada the first associate member of the European Union,” Carney posted on X.

“Today in Montreal, we have taken a major step forward by establishing more than twenty measures that will increase affordability, create opportunities and ensure our sovereignty on both sides of the Atlantic.”

In a joint statement following the summit, the two sides announced an agreement under which the European Investment Bank will invest in critical Canadian resources, particularly raw minerals. They also said they would advance cooperation on artificial intelligence security and safety.

“A more dangerous and divided world has fundamentally changed the requirements of sovereignty. It is no longer enough for nations to feed, fuel and defend ourselves,” the statement said.

It added that “true sovereignty” requires secure access to critical minerals, semiconductors, payment systems, energy, vaccines, space-based communications and AI.

Ukraine was also on the meeting agenda, with Carney announcing Canada’s participation in the EU’s 90 billion euro ($103bn) support loan for Kyiv. Carney said Canada would make an initial contribution of 500 million euros ($558m).

Opportunities for students in Canada and the EU were also discussed. Both sides said they would launch negotiations aimed at deepening Ottawa’s participation in Erasmus+, the EU’s flagship student exchange programme.

Carney and Trump are currently engaged in a trade dispute, with talks under way to reach a deal between the two countries.

EUFOR confirms Chinook CH-47 helicopter crash in Bosnia, with four Italian nationals confirmed dead.

Four people belonging to the European Union Force in Bosnia (EUFOR) have been killed after an Italian military helicopter conducting a training operation crashed.

EUFOR said a CH-47 Chinook helicopter crashed during “routine training” in the Brcko region on Thursday, about 180km (110 miles) north of Bosnia’s capital, Sarajevo.

A total of 11 people were injured in the crash, EUFOR said, adding that all the injured are receiving treatment and are in stable condition.

The Italian government said in a statement that all those on board the military helicopter were its nationals.

The victims were two soldiers and two Red Cross volunteers, according to the Italian defence ministry.

“At this moment of immense grief, my thoughts go first and foremost to the families of our fallen, to whom I extend my personal condolences and those of the entire defence establishment,” Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto said.

Wreckage

Bosnian media outlets published photos of the wreckage showing the helicopter overturned on the ground in a flat field.

A spokesman for Brcko hospital told the AFP news agency that there were 15 people on board at the time of the crash, which initially killed three people.

“Twelve people were transported to our hospital. Unfortunately, a fourth person succumbed to injuries in the hospital,” the spokesman said.

“EUFOR is conducting a full and thorough investigation of the incident and will release more information as it is verified, and when appropriate,” the force said in a statement.

EUFOR, which has between 1,000 and 1,500 personnel, has been deployed in Bosnia since 2004, when it replaced a NATO peacekeeping force that had been in the country since the Bosnian War ended in 1995. The mission oversees the implementation of the Dayton Peace Agreement, which ended the three-year war.

Christine Lagarde will leave the post in February, nine months before the end of her eight-year term.

European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde will step down months before her term ends, kicking off a race to succeed her against a turbulent backdrop in the eurozone.

Lagarde announced on Thursday that she will leave the post on February 7, about nine months before the scheduled end of her eight-year term. She said in a filmed statement posted on X that she was leaving “with a sense of good work done and an ECB that is fit for the future”.

The move gives European Union leaders time to choose her successor before April’s French presidential election, which polls have suggested far-right candidate Marine Le Pen is favoured to win.

The timing could allow current European Council members, including French President Emmanuel Macron, to take part in appointing Lagarde’s successor before France’s vote.

Macron, who is not allowed to run again, thanked Lagarde in a post on X for “the determined action she led at the head of the European Central Bank” during “a period marked by numerous crises”.

“The transition at the head of the ECB must now be prepared in an orderly and balanced manner with our European partners,” the leader of the eurozone’s second-largest economy added.

However, Markus Ferber, a German member of the European Parliament, warned: “If the impression arises that such a departure is timed around national elections, it damages trust in an institution that must stand above any domestic political calculation.”

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, leader of the eurozone’s largest economy, said Lagarde had led the bank “with great aplomb during challenging times”, and European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen thanked Lagarde “for everything you have done for Europe and the euro”.

French Finance Minister Roland Lescure praised her tenure. “Christine Lagarde has been an exceptional President of the ECB. As Europe navigated through crises and difficult times, she brilliantly modernised and strengthened the institution,” he posted on social media.

Marcel Fratzscher, president of the German Institute for Economic Research, told the Reuters news agency the early exit gives governments “an opportunity to appoint a successor who will safeguard European values and protect the ECB’s independence”.

Markets appeared unfazed. “Our view is that institutional behaviour is likely to outlast Lagarde and be quite similar, whoever takes over,” Simon Dangoor, head of fixed income macro investing at Goldman Sachs told Reuters.

Lagarde, appointed in October 2019, steered the bank through the COVID-19 pandemic, Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the United States-Israel war on Iran.

The ECB faced criticism for responding too slowly to the 2022 inflation surge, caused by post-pandemic supply chain bottlenecks and the war on Ukraine. Inflation is currently running at almost double the bank’s 2 percent target amid worries over France’s public finances.

A former French finance minister and head of the International Monetary Fund, Lagarde arrived in Frankfurt in 2019 as the first ECB chief with no formal economics training or central banking experience, prompting some market participants to warn of a “credibility risk”.

In March 2020 as the pandemic shook sovereign debt markets, she said the bank was not there to narrow the gap between Italian and German borrowing costs. She went on to show that political diplomacy could steer a central bank through historic shocks.

Sources told the AFP news agency that leaving early would give Lagarde “greater freedom to express her views”. She has hinted she could campaign in the French presidential race, saying a European voice was needed in the debate.

Student protests that began in September in France have spread to more than 11 European countries as anger rises over high rents and fuel prices and cuts to public services.

Many young protesters said they no longer expect to be better off than their parents, and household wealth data show a wide gap between generations.

Across the eurozone and two other European countries, households headed by someone under 35 have a median net wealth of about 25,000 euros ($27,870) while those headed by 55- to 64-year-olds are worth about 208,000 euros ($231,882), more than eight times as much, according to the European Central Bank’s (ECB’s) 2023 Household Finance and Consumption Survey.

In this visual explainer, Al Jazeera compares wealth by age groups across 22 European countries and looks at how much more expensive life has become since 2000.

Where is the wealth gap widest?

The Household Finance and Consumption Survey, run by the ECB and national central banks since 2010, tracks household wealth and debt in the eurozone, the Czech Republic and Hungary.

It measures net wealth, which includes property, cars, valuables and savings, minus debts. Under-35s hold just 2.8 percent of all household wealth in the 22 countries while 55- to 64-year-olds hold the largest share at 24 percent.

In Finland, under-35s hold 0.8 percent of household wealth, the lowest share of any country surveyed, while over-55s hold more than 71 percent. Young people’s shares are also small in Ireland (1.4 percent), Austria (1.6 percent), Greece (1.8 percent) and Germany (2 percent).

Rising housing costs mean many young people cannot afford what their parents or grandparents could.

Wealth is more evenly spread in Central and Eastern Europe. In Lithuania, under-35s hold 13.2 percent, against 15.9 percent for 55- to 64-year-olds. Their share is 12.3 percent in Croatia, 10.1 percent in Slovakia and 9.8 percent in Estonia. Malta, at 11.1 percent, is the exception outside the two regions.

The graphic below shows how household wealth is split between age groups in each country surveyed.

“What we’ve seen is actually a very strong increase in housing prices both in terms of the rental market as well as the ownership market,” Evelyn Astor of the European Social Observatory told Al Jazeera’s Counting the Cost programme.

“All of this is also reinforcing a sense of inequality because ultimately ordinary families are struggling to pay their rents or be able to purchase their homes whereas wealthy people with capital are able to make rather significant investments in the European housing market,” she said.

How much more expensive is it than 2000?

Prices of everyday goods and services, such as food, energy, transport and household bills, have risen by 67.2 percent in the eurozone, Hungary and the Czech Republic since 2000.

Of the countries in our chart, Hungary has seen the steepest rise with prices more than tripling, according to Eurostat, the European Union’s statistics agency. Its harmonised index of consumer prices is the EU’s official measure of how much everyday goods and services cost.

The chart below shows how consumer prices have changed in each country since 2000 with prices in 2000 set at 100 on the index.

Eastern European countries have seen the sharpest increases – particularly since 2022 when Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began – because many relied heavily on Russian energy supplies.

Prices rose by about 2 percent a year on average until 2022 when annual inflation in the EU hit 9.2 percent.

The surge was driven mainly by energy costs. Inflation has since eased, but the price rises of the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine have not reversed.

Blue Badge holders travelling in Europe can now park in a major holiday hotspot, thanks to an agreement between the Department for Transport and Ministry of Disabilities

British holidaymakers with Blue Badges can now use it in a major holiday hotspot. The disabled parking permit assists people with severe mobility issues or hidden disabilities to park nearer to their destinations. It covers both drivers and passengers.

Now the Department of Transport has struck a deal with Italian authorities so the paperwork can be used in the boot-shaped country.

It builds on a similar arrangement agreed with France, where Brits have been using their permits since August last year. Work is ongoing with Spain to explore similar arrangements for Blue badge holders. Italian visitors travelling to the UK will also benefit, with Italy’s disabled parking permits to be recognised here.

Roads Minister Justin Madders said: “Disabled people shouldn’t have to worry about whether their parking permit will be recognised when travelling abroad. These new arrangements with Italy mean Blue Badge holders can relax and enjoy their trip, with easier access to reserved parking and exemptions from charges, whether they’re travelling for a holiday, visiting family or for work.”

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The definitive status of Blue Badge recognition across European Union nations – together with key neighbouring non-EU countries – falls into several distinct categories.

The Blue Badge is fully or partially recognised in the following countries:

• Austria — Fully
• Belgium —Fully
• Croatia — Fully
• Cyprus — Fully
• Czech Republic — Fully
• Denmark — Fully
• Estonia — Fully
• Finland — Fully
• France — Fully
• Germany —Fully
• Greece — Accepts non-EU parking cards
• Hungary — Fully
• Iceland — Accepts non-EU parking cards
• Ireland — Fully
• Italy —Fully
• Latvia — Fully
• Liechtenstein — Fully
• Lithuania —Fully
• Luxembourg — Accepts non-EU parking cards
• Malta — Fully
• Netherlands — Fully
• Norway — Fully
• Poland — Fully
• Portugal —Fully
• Romania —Fully
• Slovakia — Fully
• Slovenia — May not recognise non-EU-issued parking cards
• Spain (including Balearic and Canary Isles) — UK Blue Badge recognition decided by local administrations
• Sweden — Fully
• Switzerland — Fully

The DfT cautions that even in nations where the badge is recognised, disabled parking regulations can shift quickly or differ between towns. To steer clear of hefty penalties or vehicle removal, travellers should consult local tourist information centres or local authorities before departing.

Certain countries demand a local parking notice or clock disc be shown alongside the Blue Badge. The DfT also suggests carrying a doctor’s letter or a translated version of your Blue Badge, particularly when entering countries with stricter enforcement policies.

When parking you should always:

• look for any signage indicating disabled parking spaces
• make sure that your Blue Badge is displayed correctly and that you comply with any additional requirements, such as displaying a parking disc in countries such as Denmark

Polo Lam and his girlfriend Laura Matos say they only spent minutes on the phone to check Google Maps and the internet but were stunned at the final cost

A British traveller has warned holidaymakers about the risk of unexpected charges after spending just two hours in Monaco left him and his girlfriend with a £109 (€128.88) phone bill. Polo Lam, 30, from Whitby, North Yorkshire, was travelling across Europe with his girlfriend Laura Matos, 29, in September when the couple made a brief stop in Monaco.

Despite using just 18.66MB of mobile data between them, the pair were left picking up almost £85 (€99.79) in roaming charges, sending their monthly bill soaring to £109 (€128.88), compared with just £25 (€29.18) the previous month. Experts say 18.66MB is roughly the amount of data someone might use scrolling through Instagram for just three to 10 minutes, depending on the content being viewed.

The couple were enjoying a budget-friendly interrail holiday from Barcelona to Vienna, travelling through France, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia and Hungary. While staying in Nice, they decided to visit nearby Menton and make a short stop in Monaco, which hadn’t originally been part of their plans.

Laura, a psychologist and founder of La CoolMente, said: “It was actually my idea to visit Monaco. I’d heard so much about the luxury and the famous casino, and I wanted to see what it was like for myself.”

But it was only when they continued their journey into Italy that Polo checked their mobile account and discovered the their trip had cost more than they bargained for. Speaking to Nomad eSIM, Polo said: “I couldn’t believe it when I saw the bill. We’d only been in Monaco for a few hours, and somehow our phone bill had jumped to £109 (€128.88).

“We’d barely used our phones. We only checked Google Maps and opened Instagram, but that was about it.

“What really scares me is thinking about what could have happened if we’d stayed overnight. If we’d spent a whole day or two there, we could potentially have been looking at a bill running into the hundreds, or even thousands of pounds.

“I’m pretty stingy when it comes to money, so you can imagine how I felt. We’d gone interrailing to have a relatively inexpensive holiday, and suddenly we had this huge phone bill.”

Laura added: “We were both confused about where the charges had come from. We’d only used our phones briefly to find our location, so we felt the bill was completely unreasonable. We kept talking about it for days afterwards because we’d been trying so hard to save money throughout the trip.”

Polo said the unexpected expense put a dampener on their holiday. “The worst part was thinking about what else we could have spent that money on. We were trying to keep costs down, and it would have paid for three or four meals out in some of the places we visited.”

Laura agreed that the money could have been put to much better use. She said: “We’d been avoiding expensive experiences to save money, so it was frustrating to see that money disappear on a phone bill without getting anything enjoyable in return.

“I’d much rather have spent it on a nice meal at a restaurant with a view, visiting a museum or even a more comfortable hotel. When you’re travelling around Europe by interrail, a bit of extra comfort can make a big difference.”

The experience left the couple more cautious about using their phones abroad, particularly when travelling between countries. Polo said: “I’d tell anyone travelling around Europe to check exactly which countries are covered by their mobile plan. Just because somewhere is in Europe doesn’t mean your normal roaming allowance applies. We found that out the expensive way.”

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Tim Page, Marketing Lead at Nomad eSIM, said: “One of the biggest misconceptions about mobile roaming is that travelling within Europe automatically means you’re covered by your usual mobile plan.

“Monaco is a perfect example. Despite being surrounded by France on three sides, it’s not part of the European Union and isn’t automatically covered by the EU’s Roam Like at Home rules. Introduced in June 2017, these rules generally allow customers of EU mobile operators to use their calls, texts and data across EU countries without paying additional roaming charges.

“This means travellers could be using their phones in Nice without additional roaming charges, then cross into Monaco and face significantly higher rates for exactly the same usage. Before travelling, always check which countries are included in your mobile plan, particularly destinations such as Monaco, Andorra and Switzerland.

“Even small amounts of data can result in surprisingly expensive bills, so consider switching off data roaming or using a travel eSIM that specifically covers your destination. If you do receive an unexpected roaming charge, contact your mobile provider as soon as possible. While there’s no guarantee, some providers may be willing to reduce or waive the charges as a goodwill gesture.”

Louis was flying home after a two-week holiday with his partner when cabin crew woke him to deliver some unexpected news about his ‘£5,000’ luggage

A Brit holidaymaker was left amazed after finding out that the plane he was aboard had driven over his suitcase – ‘completely destroying’ the bag and everything inside it. Louis Maybury, 27, was flying home from Madrid to Manchester Airport after a fortnight’s holiday with his partner when cabin crew woke him up with an unexpected request.

With approximately 30 minutes until touchdown, he was asked to remain on board once the other passengers had disembarked. He was then escorted to the cockpit, where the pilot delivered the unwelcome news: his luggage had been run over by the aircraft back in Madrid.

Louis could do nothing but watch in disbelief as his mangled suitcase appeared on the baggage carousel, containing what he claims was around £5,000 worth of belongings. His partner filmed the moment the battered bag was handed back to him in tatters on 11 July.

Louis, from Manchester, said: “I was extremely upset by the situation. I had packed two full weeks’ worth of belongings, including everything I needed for my trip.

“Unfortunately, all of my belongings were destroyed.” EasyJet staff informed Louis that his suitcase had been run over on the tarmac at Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport, resulting in a two-and-a-half-hour delay.

Since then, he has been engaged in a dispute with the airline over compensation for his possessions, which he valued at £5,000. Among the damaged items were a Burberry bag worth just over £1,000, an Invisalign retainer costing £500, and three Acne Studios shirts valued at roughly £300 each.

He said: “I was eventually left with no choice but to accept the minimum compensation offered and try to recover the remaining losses through my own insurance. Everything was destroyed, included a designer bag, four pairs of shoes, expensive chargers and an Oral B Toothbrush.”

An easyJet spokesperson said: “We’re very sorry that Mr Maybury’s luggage fell from a baggage cart and was damaged by an aircraft as it was coming onto stand. Safety is our highest priority and our engineers subsequently carried out an inspection of the aircraft and cleared it for departure.

“We know how important it is for customers to feel confident that their belongings are well cared for when travelling with us, so we investigated this with our ground handling providers in Madrid at the time and contacted Mr Maybury to apologise for his experience and provided him with the compensation he is due.”

The new strategy shifts the bloc’s focus from long-term climate concerns to urgent security measures.

The European Commission has unveiled a new Arctic strategy for the European Union that lists security and resilience first among four priorities, alongside climate change, economic prosperity and opportunities for Arctic communities.

The strategy calls for a new maritime security hub to help member states and partners share information and monitor maritime activity in the Arctic, the Commission said on Tuesday.

The hub would later expand to track shadow fleet vessels, detect illegal fishing and pollution, and improve search and rescue coordination.

The Commission also said the EU will work to expand European icebreaker capacity. Icebreakers are specialised vessels designed to navigate ice-covered waters by breaking up sea ice and maintaining safe shipping routes.

“The Arctic is one place where the tectonic plates of geopolitics are colliding,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said, adding that sovereignty and territorial integrity can no longer be taken for granted.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said Russia is expanding its military footprint in the high north, citing drone incursions, GPS jamming and cable sabotage, the AFP news agency reported.

Cutting reliance on Washington

Several measures appear aimed at reducing dependence on the United States. The Commission said the EU will back a strategic pan-Arctic fibre-optic telecommunications cable project linking Greenland directly to Europe. It is part of a wider plan that would also connect Canada, Japan and South Korea.

The EU will also provide secure satellite connectivity for government communications through the IRIS² constellation, a constellation AFP said is meant to rival US tech mogul Elon Musk’s Starlink.

The shift follows US President Donald Trump’s repeated demands to take control of Greenland, a Danish autonomous territory. Although his tone has softened this year, with a security deal signed with Greenland and Denmark, many in Europe remain wary, AFP said.

Member states press for action

The strategy follows last month’s meeting of leaders from 12 countries, including Germany, France, Finland and Denmark. Member states urged the EU to take a more strategic and proactive role, according to a joint statement.

Participants identified Russia as the largest threat while noting the ambitions of China and the US.

At the meeting, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the era of “high north, low attention” was over. Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo called Russia the most significant long-term threat and said the EU must treat the Arctic as a strategic frontier.

The Commission reiterated the EU’s position remains that oil, coal and gas should stay in the ground, including in the Arctic.

To combat increasing climate concerns, the Commission pledged to “strengthen climate research, observation and monitoring to better understand these changes and support effective responses”, while working in tandem with the people who live and work in the Arctic.

Hundreds of thousands of Europeans took to the streets for separate demonstrations putting pressure on governments across the EU.

Hundreds of thousands of Europeans have taken to the streets in separate, uncoordinated demonstrations to protest against the rising cost of living in their countries.

Saturday’s protests were in Belgium, France, Italy and Portugal in a wave of unrest that has put pressure on national governments across the European Union.

France experienced one of its most turbulent days of protests in decades, with over 550,000 people joining demonstrations and police facing off with protesters across the country – but it was not the only country to see significant demonstrations.

In Belgium’s capital Brussels – which has already seen weeks of protests by students against university registration fees – police fired tear gas and water cannon to disperse protesters, who they accused of launching missiles at them and setting fires.

In Liege, a smaller city east of Brussels, police also deployed water cannon to break up demonstrations. Police did not say how many people attended.

An estimated tens of thousands of protesters marched in Lisbon, the Portuguese capital, against the cost of living crisis, low wages and an inability to access housing in major cities. House prices in Portugal have more than doubled ⁠⁠since 2017, while rents for new leases have increased nearly as much.

Portuguese Parliamentary Affairs Minister Carlos ‌‌Abreu ‌‌Amorim said on Friday that the “government will not yield to shouts from the street”.Protesters said their leaders are “out of touch” with the problem.

In Milan and Bologna, Italian police reported that, alongside peaceful cost of living rallies, protesters threw stones and clashed with officers.

Italian media reported several injuries and arrests.

French protests spill over

None of the protests reached the same scale as the nationwide rallies in France but they may be a sign of spilling over into other European nations, according to Alberto Alemanno, Professor of EU Law & Policy at HEC Paris business school.

“France is the epicentre of this movement … and there are signs now that this is spreading beyond France,” Alemanno told Al Jazeera.

He said Saturday’s protests may not be the last in many of these countries and new hotspots could emerge.

In Greece, Germany, and Austria, the “early stages” of a movement is emerging, with mobilisation expected “in the coming week”, he said.

They are not a single movement, he explained, but several protests happening at the same time, with some “shared grievances”: underfunded education, rising costs and, for students, uncertain prospects after graduation.

The unrest comes at a crucial time for Europe, as the continent prepares for what Alemanno called an “unprecedented super-cycle of national elections” in the coming 12 months, with votes scheduled in Spain, France, Italy and Poland.

“Inevitably, all these protests, all these mobilisations, are going to be at the centre of the political conversation,” Alemanno said.

United States President Donald Trump has signed an executive order waiving newly-passed Russia sanctions, claiming the move is in the US’s “national interest”.

Earlier this month, Trump also announced a deal to bring stocks of Russian diesel into global markets, in a bid to drive down energy prices that have spiked during the US-Israel war on Iran. The US Treasury waived sanctions on Russian diesel sales until April 2027.

Trump’s embrace of Russian energy has angered Ukraine, European partners and many US officials, who say the move rewards Moscow while it continues its four-and-a-half-year war against its neighbour.

Ukraine’s President Volodmyr Zelenskyy slammed Trump’s diesel deal as “a gift” to Russia’s President Vladimir Putin that will help fund his war effort.

While European countries have also criticised Trump’s embrace of Russian energy, the US president has accused them of “hypocrisy”, as figures show that European Union countries continue to import Russian gas.

Here’s what we know:

Which sanctions has Trump waived?

In his executive order on Friday, Trump called off numerous planned Russia-related sanctions days before they were due to take effect, including duties on Russian goods and penalties for buying the country’s oil and gas.

The now-blocked measures were part of legislation passed in Congress with bipartisan support last month, named after the late US Senator Lindsay Graham, an outspoken critic of Russia.

They would have included up to 100 percent tariffs on all goods brought into the US from the five top importers of Russian crude oil or gas, including China and India. They could also have imposed equal penalties on countries deemed to have knowingly bought oil or gas from Russia 30 days after the law’s implementation, or to be among the top five countries helping Moscow circumvent sanctions on sales of its oil.

The waiver will hold until the Trump administration believes “further action is appropriate”, according to the executive order.

US Congressman Don Beyer, a Democrat from Virginia, said the sanctions waiver amounts to a “surrender to Putin” that “betrays our Ukrainian partners and defies clear congressional intent”.

Who will benefit from this?

Vasily Astrov, an economist at the Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies, told Al Jazeera that the Russian government will likely be the greatest beneficiary because the easing of sanctions means Russian oil will not have to be further discounted.

He estimated that about 60 cents of every extra dollar in the price of a barrel of Russian oil would “end up in state coffers”.

Russian official Kirill Dmitriev, an envoy for Putin, hailed the US decision to waive the sanctions as “an important and truly historic moment”.

Other beneficiaries include major importers of Russian oil and gas, such as China and India, who are now less exposed to the risk of secondary US penalties.

While Trump hopes the measures will also help bring down oil prices for US consumers before November mid-term elections, experts say that is less certain.

Addressing the US’s recent diesel deal with Russia, EU economy chief Valdis Dombrovskis said it is unlikely to have a significant impact on global prices.

According to Trump, that deal would bring 300,000 tonnes of diesel fuel into US and global markets “immediately”, followed by 500,000 tonnes in November, and 1 million tonnes afterwards.

“If we look at the volumes, they are not of any macroeconomic significance, and frankly, there are strong doubts whether Russia is even able to supply those volumes, and according also to US quality standards, those are big question marks,” Dombrovskis told the AFP news agency.

Which countries still buy oil from Russia?

China and India are the largest buyers of Russian crude oil, purchasing 6 billion euros ($6.74bn) and 3.6 billion euros ($4.04bn) worth respectively in September, according to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), a nonprofit think tank.

Hungary and Slovakia, the landlocked EU members that have exemptions to the bloc’s ban on Russian crude, also remain big customers, buying a combined 290 million euros ($326m) worth of the commodity in September, said CREA. Turkiye imported 172 million euros ($193m) worth of Russian crude oil the same month, the think tank added.

Since the end of 2022, the largest importers of Russian oil products, which include diesel, have been Turkiye, China, Saudi Arabia, Brazil and Singapore.

Saudi Arabia imported the most Russian oil products in September at 534 million euros ($600m), followed by Turkiye with 321 million euros ($361m), China with 304 million euros ($342m) and India with 161 million euros ($181m).

Is Europe buying increasing amounts of gas from Russia?

“The European Council regrets the United States’ decision to temporarily lift sanctions on Russian diesel,” European leaders said in a joint statement adopted following a two-day European Council meeting in Brussels this week.

But despite its own near-blanket ban on Russian oil, the EU has continued to import large quantities of Russian gas, though it plans to phase out those imports next year.

Urgewald, a Germany-based group that researches coal companies, reported this week that more than 12 million tonnes of Russian Arctic LNG was transported into EU ports from January to September this year, a 9.5 percent jump from the same period last year.

In September, EU countries imported 817 million euros ($918m) of pipeline gas, and 615 million euros ($691m) of liquefied natural gas (LNG), according to CREA.

EU members France and the Netherlands were the largest LNG importers, bringing in 446 million euros ($501m) and 116 million euros ($130m) respectively, according to the think tank. France’s LNG imports represented a 103 percent increase from the previous month, it added.

France’s President Emmanuel Macron has been among the most outspoken about Trump’s diesel deal with Russia, saying on Friday that it “sends a negative message” and would have no impact on global prices.

Hungary imported the most Russian pipeline gas of any EU member by far during the month, with 414 million euros ($465m) worth. Slovakia and Bulgaria brought in 161 million euros ($181m) and 132 million euros ($148m), respectively, according to CREA data.

Riot police clash with protesters for fourth day, as young Albanians protest corruption and poor university conditions

Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama has blamed “foreign hands” for the increasingly violent student-led protests that are calling on him to resign.

Riot police clashed with protesters outside the education ministry for the fourth day in a row, as thousands of young Albanians marched through the capital, Tirana, on Friday to protest government corruption and poor university conditions.

“This is not a student phenomenon,” Rama said in a video address on Friday. He said there were “foreign hands that do not wish for Albania to be at peace”.

Rama insisted that the protest had “absolutely nothing to do with the hardships, problems or legitimate aspirations of anyone who desires a better life”.

Police officers used water cannon and tear gas as demonstrators hurled rocks.

The protests have spread beyond the capital to Elbasan, Shkodra and Korca, where demonstrators broke windows and set fire to rubbish bins, local media reported.

The ongoing escalation follows months of mostly peaceful demonstrations, originally sparked by the sale of part of Albania’s coastline to a luxury resort development linked to Jared Kushner, US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law.

Days of unrest have increasingly targeted banks and government buildings. Protesters hurled bricks and concrete blocks at the education ministry on Tuesday. They also set fire to several buildings across the city, including the prime minister’s office, the finance and justice ministry buildings and branches of several banks.

According to a police statement, 160 people were detained over alleged acts of violence on Thursday evening.

The EU question

Demonstrators are demanding Rama’s resignation, as well as electoral and education reforms.

The prime minister, whose government denies corruption, said he would be ready to discuss rising education costs but rejected the calls to resign.

He said on Thursday, “My responsibility is to listen, address legitimate concerns and keep Albania moving forward.”

His dismissal “would be a betrayal of the Albanians who gave me a strong mandate to complete negotiations on European Union membership”, he added.

Corruption scandals have complicated Albania’s efforts to join the EU. Analysts say the country is a hub for gangs seeking to launder money from drugs and weapons trafficking.

Rama won a fourth term last year on promises to take Albania into the EU, aiming for membership as early as 2028.

Ukraine president earlier said Kyiv was ‘done’ with energy ceasefire and strikes on Russian oil refineries would resume.

Russia says Ukraine has targeted an oil refinery in Ryazan, about 180 kilometres (110 miles) south of Moscow, as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Kyiv was “done” with an energy ceasefire unilaterally announced by United States President Donald Trump over the weekend.

“The Kyiv regime attempted a large-scale attack on an oil refinery in Ryazan,” Moscow’s defence ministry said in a statement on Thursday, adding that a “fire broke out after drone debris fell onto the refinery site.”

Ukraine’s president earlier told the British newspaper the Financial Times that strikes on Russian oil refineries would resume, and accused the US of weakening Ukraine’s position on the battlefield by allegedly withdrawing crucial intelligence sharing.

Trump on Sunday unilaterally announced an “energy ceasefire” that was not publicly confirmed, and Moscow continued striking Ukrainian energy infrastructure. Ukraine said it suspended attacks on Russian energy sites for several days after Trump’s announcement.

The US has pressured Ukraine to halt strikes on Russian refineries, claiming that a suspension of attacks and a deal to purchase 1.8 million tonnes of diesel from Russia would help reduce soaring fuel prices.

“This politically is not simple [in America], because everybody will want to ask how it can be when some people are surviving, fighting, dying – and you make . . . business with the guys with such aggression,” Zelenskyy told the FT.

Zelenskyy also alleged that Ukraine’s access to SpaceX’s satellite internet service was restricted, potentially leaving it more vulnerable to Russian attacks. The Ukrainian armed forces use SpaceX’s military-grade Starshield system for offensive and defensive operations.

In a post on X on Wednesday evening, SpaceX owner Elon Musk said that only the US military and Trump had the authority to limit Starshield’s usage and speed for clients.

In a separate post, he called for Zelenskyy to “go” as Ukraine’s leader.

“And so the slaughter continues,” Musk wrote in a separate post on X. “Time for Zelensky to go.”

Ukraine is heavily dependent on Western military aid in its fight against Russia, particularly from the US and Germany. However, Kyiv’s relations with Washington have been strained in recent weeks, with Trump calling on Saturday for Zelenskyy to be replaced.

Against this backdrop of tensions, Zelenskyy said he would be willing to pause strikes on Russian energy sites again, but only if the US supplied Ukraine with crucial Patriot interceptors.

Zelenskyy is due to meet European leaders in Brussels on Thursday as he pushes for tougher sanctions on Moscow and faster delivery of support from the European Union.

Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten has called on EU leaders to “step up” their game to ensure Ukraine wins the war against Russia.

The EU has already pledged $50 billion in support for Ukraine next year. However, the sum falls far short of the $175 billion Kyiv plans to spend on its defences next year.

Trump has denied that the US has stopped sharing intelligence with Ukraine.